Part 10: Through the Weregate

Chapter 10: Through the Weregate

Last time we managed to get the Weregate open, with the help of Goewin.


So let's go inside. Prepare yourself for the horrors ahead!


AGH!

Okay, so it isn't really that scary, but the gate has closed behind us.

The strange rock formations glow with a weird light, accentuating the gloomy shadows in the corners of the cave. You strive to stop your imagination from filling the darkness with dreadful creatures.

This is probably the least interesting part of the game I'm afraid. It basically consists of one puzzle. On the plus side (arguably), we will experience our first combat situation.

So, let's talk to Goewin about it.



Diermot: Do not fear, Goewin. I will protect you!



Diermot: What do you think we should do now?

Goewin: I don't know. I'm beginning to regret coming in here now.

Diermot: Do you think the dragon will help?

Goewin: I've never heard of a dragon helping humans before, but there's always a first time.

Diermot: That's a comforting thought!



Diermot: How do you feel about Luthern?

Goewin: Only recently am I beginning to realise his worth. He is hard-working, honest, good natured...



Diermot: He drinks too much!

Goewin: Yes. But then he looks after his mother, a considerable burden. Now, with a wife to share the load...

Diermot: He has no prospects.

Goewin: He's a craftsman! Why should he want for more?

Diermot: You're right, he's a good man.


Diermot is a man, what can I say?

Let's have a look at those skulls at the back.

The old yellowed skull is that of a human, a gruesome warning to trespassers.


Hmmm... I wonder what would happen if I pulled this?


Aha! A completely logical door opening device (or CLDOD) was hidden in the skull. Looks like Ultar's drunken ramblings were right after all. Shall we go through?


Green cave. Not much to see here. It's green. It's a cave. It has more skulls.

Let's play around with the these skulls then, one of them must open the next door.


No, that closed the door we just came through.


And the other one just opens the same door again.


However, we can now tell Goewin what to do, because that's what women are for.


I'm not going to waste a lot of time explaining this puzzle because it's painfully obvious what we have to do. Just have Goewin toddle off to the entrance cave and pull the left skull.



Goewin: Anything you ask!!

Good girl. You do as you're told.


Hooray! Sexism works!

The door on the left opened and the door on the right closed. Just in case you didn't get that from the screenshot.


Blue cave! Same as the green cave only it's blue. This is some seriously exciting stuff.

It's hard to convey in screenshots without a load of boring images of Diermot standing in front of different skulls, but in order to let Goewin into the room you have to pull the right skull, that lets her into the green cave, then pull the left skull to let her in here. This really is the most boring section of the game.


Same solution, only this time we tell Goewin to pull the right skull. I always make sure I tell her to return because sometimes she glitches out here and doesn't follow you unless you tell her to.

Diermot: Follow these instructions...


Goewin does have a slight variation on responses at least. I think I'd still prefer to have Ratpouch here.


And Goewin gets the door open to the next cave.


Luckily, they decided they'd done the skull puzzle enough times and we find ourselves in the featureless red cave, or as I like to call it; The Save Cave. I call it this because I instinctively save my game here because it's combat time!



The smell of death hits you and you struggle to hold back a feeling of nausea. You decide that you have gone too far to turn back now. Picking up an axe that has been carelessly discarded - presumably by a warrior for whom it no longer holds any use - you prepare for battle.

This is it, the pointless, boring and unchallenging combat section. I have no idea why they even bothered to slot this in here, especially after the skull puzzles. It's a good thing this was so late in the game or it would have put me off playing.


So, we have to remember some advice. Grub said to let the devil-pig-man come to me and Ultar said to hit it in the head. Neither of these pieces of advice make any difference, you just hit him until he falls down.


The controls for combat are simple enough. You use to cursor to tell Diermot what to do. An arrow tells him to move forward or backward and an axe symbol tells him to strike. You can strike high, low or middling.


If you both strike at the same time, your weapons clash and no damage is dealt.


So we just whack this guy until he dies.


Unless he kills us first.


The whole fight is pretty long and tedious. You may have guessed that I don't really like it.


Defeat him in combat and he turns to stone...


And crumbles.

You decide to keep the axe which has served you so well.

So, we were able to defeat the creature that Ultar was incapable of beating. He was probably ridiculously drunk. In fact, that's probably his axe we used.

I can just imagine it now, Ultar drunkenly staggers into the cave, still dressed as a woman and very proud of having solved the skull puzzle without any help, he swings his axe blindly a few times before finally deciding to fuck it and just go back to the pub instead. I love you, Ultar. You crazy bastard!


And here we are. The dragon wakes up as soon as we enter. He seems to be waiting to see what we do before it makes its move.

The cavern is ancient and still, the atmosphere charged with magic. The air is warm and dry, and a feeling of calm and sleepiness creeps through your limbs. You are tempted to sink to the rock floor and surrender to eternal slumber, but the thought of Goewin and the threat of Selena reminds you of your mission.

Let's look at the Dragon itself.

The magnificent creature seems almost part of the rock, a strange survivor from times before the dawn of man. You find yourself humbled by the age and dignity of the huge beast.

For the sake of completion, I'll show you what happens if you got the wrong herbs for the potion or just forgot to use it on the the Dragon before talking to it.


If only the feeling were mutual, Diermot.


Incinerated! That is a genuinely horrific image when you look at it like this. The animation is so fast, you barely see what's happened, but in a screenshot like this, it's nightmare inducing.


And of course, it completely vapourises you. It may be a game over, but it almost feels like the game redeeming itself after the horribly dull section it just subjected you to. Also, if you asked for the wrong herbs, I sure hope you have an earlier save, because otherwise you're restarting.


Let's do it right this time. We don't know if the potion has worked until we talk to the dragon.

Diermot: I don't mean you any harm!

Dragon: Then why have you ensnared me, mortal?



Diermot: I need your help!

Dragon: Dragins don't give help to humans! Don't you know anything?

Diermot: Only you can save us from the Skorl.

Dragon: I'm trying to sleep, squashy one!

Diermot: I command you to help us!

Dragon: For goodness sake! Oh, go on. Tell me what you want me to do. Anything for a bit of peace!

Diermot: Tell me how I might overpower Selena and save the town.


Plot time, I hope you're paying attention.

Dragon: The demon did not perish, because it was able to feed on man's greed and ambition in order to survive. In every generation there was one such victim whom the demon could ensnare. What a time to wake me up!

Diermot: What has this got to do with Selena?

Dragon: The demon was driven out by the great Gethryn. But Selena's meddling with evil has reawakened the demon, and now it controls her mortal form.

Diermot: How can I hope to defeat a demon?

Dragon: You are fortunate to find me, for I have an object of Power, left behind by gethryn when the time came for him to leave this world. Take it!

Diermot: What is it?



Diermot: I shan't forget you... Gosh. He's asleep again! But now I have the means of defeating the Temptress!


Whoops! (Un)fortunately, disregarding the Dragon's warning doesn't lead to an interesting game over sequence. After all the dickery in this cave sequence, Diermot appears to have learned some common sense.


So we head back, turning the skulls to open the doors. Or the brain boxes as Ultar called them.


Goewin saunters in, oblivious to everything we have just done.

Diermot: I have seen the Dragon!

Goewin: Will he help us?

Diermot: He has given me an object of great power which he says will be useful.


I doubt it, he's bloody useless.

Diermot: What do you know of Selena?

Goewin: She was apprenticed to Taidgh as a girl, but as she grew her lust for power led her to use her abilities for evil purposes.




A little more playing around with skulls will get us back to the entrance.


And conveniently, the Weregate is open again.


Next time, we say our fond farewells to the people of Turnvale and we even make a new friend. So be sure to check out the penultimate chapter soon.